century-long bargain or bet that could be a movie with mr. weinstein. >> i am seeing now why "silver linings playbook" was so good. that's all i'm going to say. all right, if it's way too early, it's time for "morning joe," but now it's time for chuck todd with thedale r daily rundown. have a great day, everybody. clinton's conclusion or is it? >> secretary clinton back on the hill this morning to support john kerry's nomination to secede her. her testimony wednesday was forceful and sparked some potential early peeks at 2016 fights. republican reset, with a short-term debt ceiling deal in motion, speaker boehner and paul ryan talk tough on the party's path forward. this morning, we'll talk to another top house republican, georgia's tom price, about the challenges ahead. and the 2012 campaign saw ron paul's supporters get inside the nominating system to buck the establishment. now party leaders might face a fight on new rules put in place at the convention, to shore up

the establishment and prevent the next insurgent, rand paul, say, in 2016? good morning from washington. it's thursday, january 24th, 2013. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. apologies for the gravelly voice. i have beyonce's lip syncer standing by, shall i need her. anyway, let's get right to my first reads of the morning. secretary of state hillary clinton will be back on the hill today for what is likely to be her last appearance before congress as america's top diplomat. she'll introduce her likely successor, senator john kerry, whose confirmation begins just about an hour from now. three weeks after her release from a new york hospital after a concussion and a blood clot, clinton jousted with republicans and basked in the praise from most democrats. in more than five hours of grueling testimony at times, yesterday on both sides of capitol hill, on her handling of the benghazi attack. the testimony wasn't just the last impression clinton will leave with the public as secretary of state, it could be the beginning of the end of her

four-year honeymoon with republicans. especially as we begin to determine to 2016. yes, the word "honeymoon" might be a stretch, but consider how republicans have either embraced her or been indifferent to her over the past four years as they focused their energies on president obama. that clearly ended yesterday. clinton began her testimony with a rare public expression of emotion, talking about the deaths of ambassador chris stevens and three other americans in benghazi. >> for me, this is not just a matter of policy. it's personal. i stood next to president obama as the marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at andrews. i put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters, and the wives left alone to raise their children. >> but through most of the day, she was forceful, even combative, when she felt she needed to be, jousting with republican critics, including wisconsin senator ron johnson.

>> we were misled, that there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that. >> with all due respect, the fact is we had four dead americans! was it because of a protest?! or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some americans?! what difference, at this point, does it make?! it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. >> later, johnson, who had been more than matched in the hearing room, told hometown radio station wtmj, that was because clinton was strategically dodging his questions. >> it was theatrics, she doesn't want to answer questions, so she makes a big show of it. >> and johnson charged in an interview with buzzfeed that clinton's emotion was put on. "i think she just decided before, she was going to describe emotionally the four dead americans, the heroes, and use that as her trump card to get out of the questions." the senate hearing room was full of republicans with presidential

ambitions past and future. >> the answer s, frankly, that you've given this morning are unsatisfactory. >> i think ultimately with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11. and i really mean that. had i been president at the time and i found that you did not read the cables from benghazi, you did not read the cables from ambassador stevens, i would have relieved you of your post. i think it's inexcusable. >> florida senator marco rubio was also in the room. and if this is a preview of 2016, some of his fans might be a little bit worried. compared to clinton, he came off as mild-mannered and somewhat of a novice. >> the october 2011 meeting, at that meeting, did this issue come up with regards to the inability of the libyan government to protect our diplomatic institutions? did that issue come up at all in that conversation? >> well, we, obviously, talked about a great deal about the

deteriorating threat environment in libya. you know, when i landed in tripoli, i was met by the zintan militia. that was the welcome i had. all these guys, dressed completely in black, holding their automatic weapons. that was my welcoming party. >> rubio told fox news last night, time will tell whether some of the things she said will bear out to be true or not. these things have a way of flushing themselves out. overall, clinton's political strengths were clearly on display. she was prepared, tough when she needed to be, deferential when she wanted to be, and she displayed both raw emotion and a sense of humor. it's also worth noting that she's stronger today, politically, than she was four years ago. consider, she's leaving office with the highest approval ratings of her political career, 67%, according to a "washington post"/abc poll. we had her at 69 in the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. a whopping 91% of democrats approve of the job he's done, and that fervor was on vivid display, as senate and house democrats fell all over

themselves encouraging clinton to run in 2016. >> i know you will not go gently from the world stage. >> you will be sorely missed, but i, for one, hope not for too long. >> i salute you and i look ahead to 2016. >> i, for one, hope after a bit of rest, you will consider a return to public service, and should that return bring you to florida, i will look forward to welcoming you there. >> i think i speak for all the freshman, we're not going to get much time to serve with you, but we hope in a few years, we'll get that chance to serve again. >> other than president kennedy, i don't know of anyone who's had a better issue in latin america. >> i wish you the best in your future endeavors, mostly. >> that was from a republican, there. and yes, the residue of that fervor was even apparent in this slip-up from the white house podium. >> you can square it by stating it clearly, which secretary of state clinton did and which president clinton has and i have, and others.

>> president obama. >> i'm sorry, president obama has, secretary of state clinton, president obama, press secretary carney. >> we'll see. but let's go on to the substance. with all of the testy exchanges, and of course the 2016 subtext, there were some important questions that came out of yesterday's hearing, and questions about the reign that john kerry's likely to grapple with some time today, and we're surprised that hillary clinton didn't have to grapple with yesterday. she cast the benghazi attack as part of a larger rise of militancy in north africa, telling members of congress that arab revolutions have scrambled power dynamics and shattered security forces across the region. >> when i was here four years ago, testifying for my confirmation, i don't think anybody thought that mubarak would be gone, gadhafi would be gone, ben ali would be gone. this is a great opportunity, as well as a serious threat to our country. so, yes, we now face a spreading

jihadist threat. >> and she used this foreboding language to talk about the current instability in mali. >> this is going to be a very serious, ongoing threat, because if you look at the size of northern mali, if you look at the topography, it's not only desert, it's caves. sounds reminiscent. we are in for a struggle. >> fears, of course, that mali will become a new place for al qaeda to hide and retrain. and though clinton accepted the responsibility for security lapses, ultimately, she did not accept the blame. >> i do feel responsible. i feel responsible for the nearly 70,000 people who work for the state department. the specific security requests pertaining to benghazi, you know, were handled by the security professionals in the department. i didn't see those requests. they didn't come to me. i didn't approve them, i didn't

deny them. >> she captured offense in the findings of the independent review led by thomas pickering and admiral mike mullen countless times, but that wasn't good enough for many republicans. >> how can this review be considered thorough when the person at the top, the secretary of state, was not part of the investigation? >> madame secretary, you let the consulate become a death trap. and that's national security malpractice. >> i think when you have a united states ambassador, personally warning about the situation over there, sending this cable to your office -- >> well, if i could -- 1.43 million cables a year come to the state department, and they're all addressed to me. >> and then clinton offered a bit of candor when asked why u.n. ambassador susan rice made the sunday show rounds following the attack. >> why weren't you the person to be appear on the sunday shows

immediately following the attack. ambassador susan rice said that you decline. was that correct? >> well, i have to confess here in public, going on the sunday shows is not my favorite thing to do. there are other things i'd prefer to do on sunday mornings. >> don't we know that here, and don't our friends at "meet the press" know this. but more seriously, when it comes to north africa, i was surprised yesterday to not hear questions going all the way back to the decision to push mubarak out, when you look at all of the domino effect, mubarak and gadhafi, talked about ben ali, all of that, the impact and what has happened since the sort of chaos, if you will, that has allowed weapons to flow down to mali, the buildup of al qaeda in north africa. this is going to be a large foreign policy problem, national security issue, for the administration going forward and there will be a lot of questions for john kerry and others going forward on this issue.

all right, back to domestic politics. speaker john boehner laid out his strategy for house republicans in a tuesday speech to the repon society, a moderate republican group. >> we're expected over the next 22 months to be the focus of this administration, as they attempt to annihilate the republican party. and let me just tell you, i do believe that is their goal. to just shove us into the dustbin of history. >> boehner also said that he had to give former college football coach and espn commentator lou holtz a pep talk after obama's inauguration. >> last night, i get a three-page text from my good friend, lou holtz, who must have watched state of the union and then he watched all that blabber on tv last night. so about 9:30, i get this three-page text. i'm done, finished, the

country's over with, we're not doing this again. i've already had this conversation with lou about nine or ten days after the election. he's moaning and groaning, and i said, lou, will you stop it, we're americans, we'll figure this out. and i just spent 15 minutes giving lou holtz a pep talk. >> well, good news for republicans, lou holtz hasn't been the best predictor when it comes to college football, so maybe he's off on this prediction as well. anyway, boehner's message to stick together before a group that is known for being more centrist was no accident. and boehner joked about his own vulnerability in his conference, making this joke after being introduced by former congressman mike hocksly. >> when he gave me this introduction, he was talking about how no one questioned my integrity, no one questioned my patriotism, no one questioned my conservatism. huh. where the hell have you been?! >> boehner successfully corralled those members yesterday, though. the house passed a bill to

suspend the debt ceiling for four months until may 19th, avoiding a showdown over the federal borrowing limit. backing off a demand for dollar-for-dollar spending cuts. house republicans, instead, added a no-budget, no-pay provision to the bill, which would withhold lawmakers' paychecks if they failed to pass a budget and attempt to embarrass the senate and refocus the fight there instead of on the president. >> breaching the debt limit, which some of our members have been pretty anxious to do. that's playing with fire. and no one really knows what will happen, but i'm not quite sure i want to look over the evening of the cliff. >> boehner also promised the new house republican budget will balance in ten years. the guy leading that charge, paul ryan, broke his silence yesterday about the 2012 election. >> the only regret i have is we lost. i think it's closer than you think. the big debate that reinvolvolv,

you know, they really did a phenomenal job on technology and turnout. and they should get credit for that. i don't see this as a rejection of our principles. i think we need to do a better job of applying our principles to the problems of the day, to show solutions to the country's biggest problems, and how they relate in people's everyday lives. >> there you go. paul ryan, of course, will be david gregory's exclusive guest on sunday on "meet the press." all right. good news, march madness fans. we can now focus on more of miami versus duke and everybody else, rather than debt ceiling. but does it end up leading to a may mayhem. one economic disaster gets pushed down the pike, but the debt deal doesn't solve the sequester problem. congressman tom price, vice chair of the budget committee, he joins me next. plus, battle of the sexes, groundbreaking change coming today for women in the military. but first, a look ahead at the president's schedule. at 2:30, he'll nominate former federal prosecutor, mary jo

white as the next chairman of the securities and exchange commission and also renominate richard corddry to be director of the consumer financial protection board. can he get confirmed this time? last time he was put in the job by recess appointment. you're watching "the daily rundown," only on msnbc. so if you have a flat tire, dead battery, need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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this bill is a political gimmick. this bill was cooked up a few miles from here, when, frankly, the majority party said, we're in trouble, the people don't like us, things aren't going well, how do we fix it? well, they came up with this gimmick. >> well, that was thousands democratic whip, steny hoyer,

hitting republicans on the no budget, no pay deal passed wednesday. after a bruising election, a tough fight on the fiscal cliff, and with even more fiscal deadlines looming, can republicans regroup? joining me now, republican tom price, vice chair of the budget committee and on the front lines of this battle. congressman price, apologies for my voice. i'll try to keep my questions short. >> nice hearing your voice today, chuck, so good health to you. >> thank you, sir. is this a retreat? on one hand, it's a tactical -- looks like a tactical retreat. you guys had set a precedent, you thought, that any time you raised the debt ceiling, it would be $1 for spending cuts for every dollar in debt ceiling raised. that is not what you got this time. and you have put the focus on senate democrats, a political tactic, perhaps a very successful one. but is that really a tactical retreat? >> i don't think so at all, chuck. and i was curious to hear steny's comments about this being a gimmick.

86 democrats supported the bill that we had on the floor yesterday, the no budget, no pay, so clearly they didn't think it was a gimmick. this was a bipartisan effort. look, if you look at the goal, we've got to get our fiscal house in order, we've got to balance the budget, and in order to do that, the senate actually has to produce a budget, which they haven't done in nearly four years. the house has had budgets for each of the last two years that actually get to balance. so what we did, in this bill, is to say to the senate, look, you've got to do a budget. families do budgets, businesses do budgets, employers do budgets. the senate has not done a budget in nearly four years, so this is the challenge for them to do a budget, so that the american people can compare the solutions, the real solutions that we put on the table, and i believe the solutions that the democrats put on the table in the democrat-controlled senate, that the american people won't want. and that's the importance about this, so that we move forward in the new debt ceiling discussion, come may, and put in place real solutions. >> well, in a perfect world, the way congress works, then is, you guys have your budget, the senate has yours.

there's a conference committee, and you hash it out, and you end up somewhere, maybe it's 60/40, the senate's way, maybe it's 60/40 your way, maybe it's 50/50. are you okay with that? there's been this assumption that house republicans will not support something that isn't, say, 75 or 80% of what they want. >> well, what we'll support real solutions, that solve the fiscal challenges that we've got. look, we still have 7.8% unemployment. we've had four straight years of trillion-dollar-plus deficits, annually. we've added over $5 trillion to the national debt in the past four years. we can't continue down this road and expect a vibrant economy and jobs being created, which is the real issue. we've got to get america back to work. and the way that you do that is with real solutions that address the spending challenges that we have, in an honest and sincere way. >> let's go back to the word "compromise." are you willing to compromise? when it comes to the three

levers of budgetary power here, the wlous, the senate, and the house, you only control 33% of it. are you willing to take 33% of what you want? >> we're the minority party in washington, there's no doubt about it. we're willing to talk about whatever it is that actually gets us to a solution. the problem that we've had with the democrat-controlled senate in the last two years is they haven't produced a budget, so there's no way to even talk about a compromise, as you're working with the senate, because they don't even say what they believe, what they think we have to do to solve these challenges. so this is a big step forward to force the senate to do a budget. >> let me ask you about march and the expiration of funding for the government. are you going to be willing, then, to push that dlaeadline t months, to have it match the debt ceiling, to have both sides hammer out their budgets? >> no, i don't think so. i think what we need to do is to decrease spending at the level that we are right now, which is the $974 billion. that's what the spending

reductions from the budget control act of august 2011 brought in place. continue on that vein until we see what the, again, the senate's plan is. april is the statutory deadline -- >> so we could see a budget shutdown here, if there's no solution on even just extending temporarily funding of the government? >> we're not interested in a shutdown. if the president wants a shutdown -- again, you noted. we're the minority party in washington. if the majority party wants a shutdown, then we'll shut down. but that's not what we want. we want responsible spending, get our fiscal house in order, get on a responsible path to create jobs, and those are real solutions we'll put on the table. >> let me ask about your political future. are you thinking about challenging senator saxby chambliss in 2013? >> that's all too premature at this point. >> you're not ruling it out. >> and making certain that we move forward from an economic standpoint in this country, put real solutions on the table, allow the american people to see

the contrast between real solutions in the house and the senate. >> why aren't you immediately ruling it out? >> uh, why would i rule that out at this point? it's not -- it's not pertinent for the question of the day. >> but it's something you are open to, if you're drafted or something like that? >> look, i'm a physician. i spent 20 years taking care of patients. i never dreamed about going into politics. if opportunity knocks, then you have to open the door. >> do you think senator chambliss is conservative enough to represent the state of georgia? >> i think the two senators from the state of georgia have done a very good job representing the state of georgia. >> all right. i will have to leave it there. congressman tom price, vice chairman of the budget committee there, part of the republican leadership when it comes to these budget battles, thanks for coming on this morning. >> thanks, chuck. >> all right. and a programming note for you, as i teased earlier, this sunday on nbc's "meet the press," congressman paul ryan sits down exclusively with david gregory. it's his first live television interview since the november

election. up next, new nuclear threats from north korea. plus, primary pressure after new jersey senator frank lautenberg suggested potential primary challenger mayor cory booker deserves a spanking. we'll tell you who's actually got the upper hand in a new poll. but first, today's trivia question. name the only former governor and lieutenant governor pairing to both be nominated for president. tweet me the answer @chucktoday and @dailyrundown. the first correct answer gets a follow thursday from us. the answer and more is coming up on "the daily rundown". we'll be right back. time for the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. kathleen king had a successful bakery business in the hamptons, but a partnership that went sour resulted in her losing it. left with a storefront and a recipe, she started tate's. she now makes more than 2 million cookies a week with over $10 million in sales. for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on

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serving in combat today. the groundbreaking move, backed by the joint chiefs of staff, overturns a 1994 rule banning women from being assigned to smaller combat units and opens up hundreds of thousands of front line positions to women. panetta will call on military services to study whether it's possible to open all jobs to women. according to u.s. military officials, it is expected that special operation jobs, such as the s.e.a.l.s, rangers, and delta force could remain closed to women. north korea says it will carry out more long-range rocket launches and a high-level nuclear test in response to the u.s.-backed u.n. security council resolution, condemning that december rocket launch. in a statement published by pyongyang's state news agency and attributed the to the national defense commission, north korea says the u.s. is the sworn enemy of the korean people. okay, then. and an underground nuclear test will not directly threaten the u.s., but it will raise the

stakings for the obama administration. new poll numbers indicate new jersey mayor cory booker leading frank lautenberg in a hypothetical democratic primary for the u.s. senate. according to the latest quinnipiac poll, booker leads 51 to 30. lautenberg has not said whether he'll run for re-election next year. and booker is, quote, still exploring the idea of a senatorial bid. all right. up next, a republican rift. we're taking a deep dive into the power struggle going on right now within the gop. it has to do with what's going on down in charlotte and the rnc. you're watching "the daily rundown," only on msnbc. bster is hitting the streets to tell real people about our new 15 under $15 menu! oh my goodness... oh my gosh, this looks amazing... [ male announcer ] 15 entrees under $15! it's our new maine stays! seafood, chicken, and more! ooh! the tilapia with roasted vegetables. i'm actually looking at the wood grilled chicken with portobello wine sauce. that pork chop was great. no more fast food friday's. we're going to go to red lobster... [ male announcer ] come try our new menu and sea food differently. and introducing 7 lunch choices for just $7.99!

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war of sorts last summer and it threatens to drive the wedge deeper, as the party heads towards 2016. today we're taking a deep dive into those rules. how they got changed, and how conservatives are trying to change them back. here's the deal. the rules were amended during the 2012 gop convention at the request of romney adviser ben ginsburg and former governor john sununu. in essence, they give a boost to establishment candidates like mitt romney and raise the bar for grassroots candidates like, oh, a guy named ron paul. when it came up for a vote, this was the reaction at the convention. >> all those in favor, signify by saying aye! >> aye! >> all those opposed, no. >> no! >> the ayes have it! the resolution has been adopted. [ booing and clapping ] >> good old-fashioned strong arm politics there. anyway, here's what they're so

upset about it. first, the amendments require that delegates sent to a convention on behalf of a candidate actually vote for that candidate. that means delegates are no longer free to cast their vote as they wish. that means the ron paul strategy of winning delegates at the state convention level is essentially thrown out the window, even if he wins them, those folks still have to vote for romney. second, they increase the number of states a candidate needs to win in order to get his or her name placed in the nomination from five states to eight states. third, their alter the gop's long-standing process of setting rules only at convention, and now allow the rnc to change them at any time. critics say those amendments amount to a power grab that give the establishment candidate and the party power brokers undo influence over the nomination process. in addition, they say it will make it harder for outsider candidates to have their voices heard. all this sets the stage for what's happening in charlotte right now. morton blackwell, a long-time

member of the party's rules committee has sent open letters to rnc members and the leadership, calling the amendments a, quote, stupid move, and insisting that they be reconsidered. he writes, "what good is it to centralize power if doing so prevents us from recruiting new grassroots activists to our party and building an organization which can win future elections" morton blackwell is president of the leadership institute and he joins me now. he's been a longtime activist inside the rnc. mr. blackwell, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, chuck. >> let me start with the one rule that was changed, and this is what the romney folks feared. it had to do in places, for instance, out of the state of iowa, how far the state of nevada. ron paul did not win either state, and yet, there were a lot of delegates that were supposed to go to romney, that ended up having ron paul supporters fill that slot. shouldn't the romney folks feel

as if delegates who are assigned to him, be forced to vote for him, at least on the first ballot? >> chuck, you gave a remarkably good run down on some major aspects of the rules battle, but in this respect, you didn't get it quite right. what was at issue was not whether or not candidates got the delegate votes that they would win in a primary, but whether or not a presidential candidate could disallow and remove delegates that they didn't like. there was a big uproar over this. and there was no question, ever, that delegate votes won in a primary wouldn't be cast as allocated by state law. >> let me stop you here.

you, specifically say "primary." you believe it's different for caucus states? >> well, in a caucus situation, the people are actually elected as delegates, in some way, under state party rules. so it really wasn't an issue with respect to caucus states, because caucus and convention states, if there's no primary involved, the delegates that are elected get to vote the way they want, and candidates run people for delegates and those delegates win. the issue, however, was settled in the tampa convention, and the idea that candidates could disavow and remove dually elected delegates from the

states was pulled out at the last minute, so that's not one of the points at issue, currently, in matters that relate to the republican rules. i think the real issue is, will the republican party remove the power grabs, which ben ginsburg, who you mentioned, oversaw in the convention rules committee, and i'm submitting a motion to repeal all those power grabs that can be repealed, by the republican national committee. and there's a lot of support on the national committee for that. >> i imagine there would be. and the state, when it comes to national committee, very much state-based power situation. the state base always usually wins those fights, but does it say or does it reflect on mitt romney that there was sort of a lack of passion for him, that when it came to these state conventions, two and three months later, when it was clear that he was the nominee, he struggled at these state conventions, up against these ron paul supreme courts?

>> well, the convention process is open at the bottom. and anybody who wants to participate is free to do so. >> so why wasn't mitt romney's people doing a better job there? >> well, they just got out-organized. your activity at the ground level counts a whole lot. in the presidential election, the president and his allies beat romney and his allies, of which i was one, beat us at the ground level. there's no question the ground game for obama and his allies was much greater. that's another issue we've got to address -- >> and arguably, we saw this -- and arguably, this was foreshadowed, in some of these places, when ron paul was out organizing. >> that could well be. the overwhelming issue is, however, will the republican

party welcome newcomers and establishment people often are not inclined to do that. i trained thousands of conservatives through my leadership institute every year, and i can tell you that if we're going to build the republican party, we need to welcome newcomers. we need to treat them fairly and politely, and even cordially, and have to make allowances for people who are newcomers, who may not quite understand the procedures and may be a little rambunctious. >> are you confident this is going to pass, your ability to rescind some of these orders? >> i have no idea. it's going to be very difficult to pass, because under the change of rules, the republican national committee can change the rules, but it requires a three quarters vote of all of the 168 members of the national committee. so whether or not this change passes will largely depend upon whether the national chairman supports these changes. >> morton blackwell, a virginia national republican committee member, longtime activist, conservative activist inside the

party, thanks for coming on this morning. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> all right. the gaggle will be here next, but first, the white house soup of the day. i've been drinking and eating a lot of soup. black bean chorizo today. that's a cold soup. i'll take matza ball and chicken noodle. be sure to check out our website, we'll be right back. [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check? every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. ok. [ voice of dennis ] silence. are you in good hands?

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it's the daily flashback. it was this day in 1848 when james w. marshall discovered gold building a saw mill near sacramento. president polka authenticated the discovery during an address to congress at the end of the year, kicking off the gold rush. the massive migration of prospectors to the california territory in the next year were known as, you guessed it, 49ers. thereafter, something else that's not made of gold wing it's made of tin or steel, it's called the lombardi trophy.

anyway, house speaker john boehner acknowledged the tough road ahead for his party on tuesday. >> these next couple of weeks, the next couple of months, and frankly, next 20 months are going to be very difficult periods for us. if we do good things we believe in it, but we're going to be doing it in an environment that's going to be far hostile than anything we've seen for a long, long time. >> let's bring in our thursday gaggle, from the "chicago tribun tribune", clarence page, sharon, and michael hudone. welcome all. michael, let me start with you. you heard what boehner said, and i want to read you a quote from paul ryan about what republicans now need to do. "we have to explain who we are, what we believe in, and fight for those things in a realistic way, making policy better where we can through engagement." sounds like house republicans are saying, we have to take half a loaf. >> i think what you're seeing is

republicans sort of got hit with reality. we've lot five our six presidential popular votes and i think the party knows that we need to sort of distinguish between the off-year elections where we do really, really well. for example, we have 30 governors and they have 19. and the presidential race, where the electorates are a lot different. the house republicans are pretty smart. what they don't want to do is get pegged as extremists. and i think the folks in the senate are going to take a look at our nominates process, so we don't get stuck with guys like murdoch in indiana and akin in missouri. >> you say house republicans. right now it's house republican leaders. the question is, will the rest of the house republicans go along, boehner, ryan are clearly, and the rest of the caucus is. >> i think this entire congress for the next two years, what we're going to be doing is whip checking the house republican congress and see if these ten dissenting voices, if they'll continue on that path, and how many of them will join the ten

throughout the rest of the cycle. and that's where this thing -- i think this was a smart comment to say in a realistic way. i think it's a nod that they have to keep quiet. they have to stay in the bunker for a while. >> and i've heard this from other republicans, who quietly go, you know, we could have made obama care better, as far as the republicans were concerned, but we chose not to. chose to fight it and see if they can kill it. now they can't kill it and now they're stuck with legislation that they don't like t all, and they had no and they advocated their chances of getting it on there. >> yeah, sounds like ryan didn't want to do that again. >> i've got to give props to certain republican moderates. outsiders, of course, david frum, david brooks, people like that, who were saying all along, you know, hey, engage in this debate so you can at least shape obama care, so that it won't be, not as onerous to conservative tastes as obama has in mind, then decide to do it all or nothing. and they wound up getting nothing, because now they are

going after a program that is established and gaining popularity. and i think that -- i'm waiting to see how quickly the tea party folks get institutionalized, as they say in prison life. in other words, realize that they are here to get something done, not just stand in the way. >> but that's not why they were elected, right, mike? you've worked with some of these, worked against some of these tea parties in some of these republican primaries. they actually were elected to gum up the works in some of their minds. >> i think in the primary process, you have more committed voters. the electorate is more pro-life, more pro-second amendment. it's a very different electorate. i don't believe muck up the works would be the way i would put it. each of these guys has to be true to themselves. so when they get to congress, to thine own self be true, it's an important thing. it's the only way to get re-elected. >> until one of these guys gets punished for being,

quote/unquote, pumucking up the works, get what you can done, then this dynamic may not shift. >> a lot of these house republicans who were elected in 2008, they don't serve with any fear that they could lose their seat. serve with fear that cilose their seat. they have been drawing nice "r" districts but that's because they haven't had a scare, necessarily. >> we'll come back. we're going to do some 2016 because why not? it was hillary's last day on the hill. >> we ask, name the only governor/lieutenant governor pairing to both be nominated for president. the answer, michael dukakis and john kerry. kerry was the lieutenant governor of massachusetts under dukakis in the early '80s. we think john kerry is the only ever sitting lieutenant governor to eventually make it as far as a nominee for president in a major party. are we right about that? we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] where do you turn for legal matters? at legalzoom, we've created a better place

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live pictures of capitol hill. this is where senator kerry's confirmation hearing to be secretary of state is set to get under way in just a few minutes. we'll have live coverage of that, of course. secretary clinton will be back in front of the committee she spoke to yesterday, but just to speak in favor of kerry. the hearing gets under way at 10:00 a.m. we'll bring it to you live. let's bring back the gaggle. clarence, first, one thing about the clintons, when they exit, even temporarily, it's never quiet. bill clinton, mark rich, hillary clinton with the benghazi thing. but she right now, a better politician today than she was eight years ago? >> i think there was a certain smoothness, a voice of experience we could see, and a stature that was indicative of all of the years she spent out there in the trenches learning, both she and her husband from his gubernatorial days, learning how to put a message across in

simple terms that will reach across party lines. >> what struck me, she was still mrs. clinton in '07 and '08. she's not mrs. clinton anymore. it's clear to a lot of people, but clearly, she's not just bill clinton's wife. >> absolutely not. granted, she was back in her old chamber. i can't help but wonder what was going through her head, if she was thinking, this place has changed since i was here. what happened yesterday, especially when ron johnson was questioning her, told me a lot more about ron johnson and what kind of members had been elected. >> 2016 politics going down in charlotte today. bobby jindal giving a big address. he's really clearly positioning himself for 2016. >> one of the answer s we have s great governors. two latino governors. governor jindal is setting the right tone for us. >> stop fighting about social issues.

stop talking about the budget, oddly enough. >> what he's saying is let's act like adults and let's set real good policy. he understands good policy is good politics. >> quickly, shameless plugs. >> i want to thank the crowd controllers at the inauguration doing a better job than four years ago. >> two great 2014 stories. on roll call, by me and joshua miller. >> i'm be launching a new firm called the triumph group some time next week. >> for me, it's all about the "u." go canes. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." coming up next, chris jansing and the senate hearing. bye-bye. look, if you have copd like me,

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excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click away with our free mobile app. good morning. i'm chris jansing. arth very big day in washington. the debt ceiling debacle is postponed until may. the senate is close to a deal to reforming the filibuster. and we of course are waiting for the start of the nominatio